A Word In Season

Dear God, Blessings belong to You. We welcome You to direct our steps on this journey. Your heart towards us causes us to flourish. We celebrate the contributions and mourn the losses of ones dear to our community. Their work is complete, and their fruit remains with us. We remember: Trustee Andrea Harris’s love for Bennett and passion for empowering women, We remember retired professor, Dr. David Pinnix. The memory of his musical gifts lives on. We remember professor, Dr. Ruth Lucier, whose smile was light on our campus. We also celebrate colleagues and friends enjoying retirement. We represent portions …

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is …

A story is told of a young woman who was mountain climbing with friends. During her accent, her safety rope slipped and the jerking motion dislodged one of her contact lenses. She was able to reach the summit, but to her dismay, her view was blurred because of having only one well-focused eye. Bless her heart! Her response was to ask God for help. The young woman thought, “Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me.”

God, You have been so good. You have preserved Your daughters for this mo-ment. Her robe represents her armor, protecting her from want; her cap is a helmet which guards against arrogance, ignorance, and pride; Let her degree serve as a witness to Your grace and a road map enfolding the path You have set for her. Now God, please cloak Your daughter with dignity, wrap her in Your peace, and fill her with confidence and heighten their discernment. Strengthen each Belle to stand up for what is right at all times, even if she must stand alone. Thank you for allowing the Bennett family to play a role in Your plan. We now send these young women forth into the world You have equipped them for.

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not flunk; He keeps me from lying down when I should be studying. He leads me beside the refrigerator for a study break. He restores my faith in study habits for my grade’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of borderline grades, I will not have a nervous breakdown, for You are with me. My prayers, my family and my friends, they comfort me. You give me answers in moments of blankness, You anoint my head with understanding, my test runs over with questions I recognize. Surely passing grades and flying …